Graton Resort and Casino set for Tuesday opening

After more than a decade of debating, meeting, protesting, and promising, the Graton Resort and Casino opens Tuesday.

November 4, 2013 12:00:00 AM PST

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. --

After more than a decade of debating, meeting, protesting, and promising, the Graton Resort and Casino opens Tuesday in Rohnert Park where they are already predicting it'll bring as many as 10,000 more cars a day to nearby streets and Highway 101.

It's hard to believe. The land used to be a cow pasture. Now, it will be the site of the largest casino in California. It looks a lot like a Nevada gaming casino. The Graton Resort and Casino is Indian gaming like the state has never seen?

It cost $800 million to build. It features 3,000 slot machines and almost 150 gaming tables. It could generate an estimated $500 million in annual revenue within three years. The project has created some 2,000 new jobs, some of them local business ventures.

The best backstory might be a family-owned Mexican restaurant called La Fondita. They came to America 25 years ago. They began with a food truck but now, Gustabo Cazares and his family have a restaurant, an opportunity. One might call it a case of gambling on multiple levels ? until they taste the food. It's pretty good.